


Comparing Notes

by LittleSweetCheeks



Category: Criminal Minds, White Collar
Genre: Assets, Crossover, Gen, Work Break, acquaintances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-07-12 00:41:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15983933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleSweetCheeks/pseuds/LittleSweetCheeks
Summary: Why couldn't he have gotten the easy one?





	Comparing Notes

“Aaron!”

Hotch looked up to locate the source of the surprised voice. He was sitting at a little table near a coffee cart, working on a file in the dappled shade. His eyes landed on a face he knew, and he stood, smiling. “Peter!” He offered a hand to shake the other man’s. “It’s good to see you.” He waved at an empty chair. “Do you have time to sit?”

“Yeah, I’m going to grab some coffee first.” Peter watched the other agent nod and begin to shuffle files away. “Working break?” He chuckled.

Aaron smiled again. “Something like that. I was told I needed to breathe something other than recirculated air for a while.” He turned so he could continue the conversation as Peter waited for his order. “Rumor has it, it was starting to affect my mood.”

Peter nodded in understanding. “Being cooped up will do that to you. Even I know you work too much, Hotch and I’m not even in the same city.”

“It seems my fearless leader has forgotten his good southern upbringing and manners. Hello, I’m Penelope.” Garcia had been sitting at the table, ignored by the suited men, until she’d decided to take it upon herself to make the introductions and stood, offering her hand to him. “A forgetfulness I promise will be handled later in the appropriate manner.”

Surprised at both the boldness of her personality and her dress, Peter shook her hand. “It’s good to meet other agents on Hotch’s team. You all do great work and have a stellar reputation at what you do.”

She blushed. “Oh, I’m not an agent. Just a lowly analyst.”

Glancing over his shoulder, Peter managed to keep from rolling his eyes at the look on Neal’s face. He was about to also hear comments on his own manners and Neal wasn’t likely to be as kind about it. “This is Neal, I’m his handler. He helps us when cases fall into his area of expertise.”

Neal already had his most charming smile slipping across his face as he shook Hotch’s hand and then tipped his hat at Garcia, making her giggle and blush. “Colleague, he just likes to remind me of my place. It’s a pleasure to meet you both. I’m sorry, I can’t say that I can recall Peter ever mentioning where you work.”

Garcia, charmed, answered. “We’re with the BAU, you know, serial killers, the real bad guys, worst of the worst.”

Peter frowned at the way Neal was eyeing the blonde. “You having the usual Neal?” He tried to draw his attention away.

“Yes, please.” Neal slid into the seat beside Penelope. “And how does a beautiful woman such as yourself end up doing such a horrible job?”

Deciding it was time for a fresh cup himself, Aaron turned, trying where Peter had failed. “You want anything, Garcia?”

Her eyes never left Neal’s. “Something to nibble perhaps.” Her tone made it sound much more seductive than it needed to.

Surrendering for the time being, the two agents approached the cart, far enough away to be out of hearing range of the other two. Peter leaned against a post, watching the table. “Penelope, I’ve heard you mention that name before, haven’t I?”

Hotch nodded absently. “Yes, she and I are like the two of you.”

“Ah, that’s right, she was an asset.” He kept watching, not taking notice of the way Hotch tensed slightly at the word _asset_. Aside from her wardrobe and her initial boldness, she seemed sweet, maybe the quiet nerdy type. He wondered why he couldn’t have gotten assigned a quiet asset instead of Neal and all that had come with him. “You take her everywhere with you?”

“What?” Aaron sipped his fresh coffee as he waited for the giant muffin to be ready. “Oh, no. Usually she stays back at the office. But I guess I’ve growled at a few too many people this week and she packed me up and forced out here.” He frowned. “She’s not afraid of me.”

“Being outside isn’t torture, you know.”

Aaron had also been watching the two at the table, noticing Neal’s tailored gray suit and understated tie, and wondered why he couldn’t have gotten an analyst who conformed a bit better to the FBI’s standards. “Sometimes I wish the members of my team weren’t so comfortable getting into my space.”

“Ah, they do it because they love you.” He chuckled. “I wish Neal wasn’t totally fine plowing over anything I say. He even manages to get El to go along with his ideas. He’s totally charmed her.”

Hotch could see Garcia was also charmed. “He doesn’t look so bad.”

“Looks can be deceiving, that’s for sure. Your Penelope seems good though, she at least worries about you. And a techie, that’s a pretty easy gig for you. Probably hides out with her computers all the time, not trying to run heists and scams under your nose.”

Aaron snorted. “You have no idea.”

“I don’t know, I think I just might.”

Thanking the woman for the muffin, Aaron turned around, picking at it before finally breaking off a bit and popping it in his mouth. “I doubt Neal is anything like having Garcia. I have been taken to task so many times for how she dresses.” He shook his head. “Sometimes it’s like trying to keep track of a room full of toddlers. Genius toddlers.”

“Aw, it can’t be that bad. Every time I look away, Neal’s trying to pull a con on the side. I think he’s successful in about half of them. I don’t really want to know, but if he gets caught, I’m in at least as much trouble as he is.” He arched a brow at Hotch stealing another bite of Garcia’s muffin. “You trust her enough that she doesn’t wear a tracker?”

Hotch shrugged. “All of her crimes were committed from the comfort of home; a tracker wouldn’t exactly keep her on the straight and narrow. She does have to stay away from the dark net and the people she used to associate with but…” He trailed off until he noticed Peter was waiting for him to finish. “I honestly don’t have the skills to know if she ever did. And she has to know that. But I also know that she can’t lie to me, and I’ve been good about not abusing that. When I caught her though, she was so… I knew we needed her on the team. I just didn’t know then how much we needed her in out family as well.”

“I think if Neal was free of the tracker, he’d be gone in a heartbeat.”

“Even with the years you have together? You said he gets along with your wife, so he’s making connections, right?”

Peter had to think a minute. “Maybe. I mean, I know some of his friends and I know they aren’t clean, they’ve just never been caught. I think it amuses a few of them that I essentially know but can prove anything. But they have also helped with cases.”

Aaron suddenly realized the muffin in his hand was over half gone. “Crap.” He turned and went straight to the table “I’m sorry, Garcia, it was the last one of this flavor and I know it was your favorite.”

The blonde smiled up at him. She and her new friend had been talking about their handlers, comparing the amount of leeway they each had, the amount of trust. A small smile had flitted across Garcia’s face as she’d watched Hotch eating the muffin. “It’s okay, Hotch, I didn’t really want it anyway.”

His brows knit together in confusion, she’d requested something to eat. And then it dawned on him, she’d sneakily gotten _him_ to eat something without an argument. “Oh.” He popped the rest in his mouth and swallowed before leaning down and pecking a kiss to her cheek in thanks. When he stood straight, Peter was staring at him, bemused, and Aaron felt himself blush. Collecting his files, Aaron brought them to a free table and took a seat.

“You two are close.” Peter observed.

“If you knew her well, you would know that with her… It’s normal. You should hear how she talks to some of the other agents.” Hotch shook his head.

“Do you think they know?” Peter gestured to the other table with his cup.

“Know what?”

“That we can’t live without them?”

“Garcia reminds me every day.”

 


End file.
